This invention relates generally to the art of dispensing individual flexible plastic containers and more particularly to a technique for dispensing such containers when they are attached in an imbricated manner to a carrier strip.
Various techniques for dispensing flexible containers or bags utilizing a carrier strip have been devised. One such technique is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,161,347 to Hannon. The technique disclosed therein comprises attaching the open end of a container to a carrier strip which advances the chain of bags in a desired fashion. Each of the bags are disposed along the chain in an imbricated manner such that each bag opening is covered by the bag which immediately precedes it. The carriers disclosed therein may take the form of a strip having substrips of adhesive thereon. The system is arranged to operate in a manner such that the open end of the lead bag leads the advance of the overall chain. In this manner forced air may be utilized to open the lead bag to permit the grasping of a portion of the opened bag and facilitate the insertion of an object into the bag.
Another technique for dispensing imbricated bags as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,587,843 to Wing. The invention disclosed therein is a chain of imbricated bags connected together and supported by two strands of tape. The bags each have two overlying sides, one of the sides being secured to both of the tapes. The open end of the bags are oriented in the same direction with each bag offset along the tape and overlying the opening of the underlying bag. It is an object of the invention disclosed therein to provide a package of bags that will inflate to a square type opening when the lead bag is impinged upon by a stream of fluid.
While these prior art techniques are perfectly satisfactory for many applications, it is desirable to provide alternative techniques for dispensing flexible containers for use in a packaging operation.